Wednesday, April 20, 2005

I will try my best to cover the game yesterday and the developments through today's game. So far, the Twins are tied with the Royals 8-8. There is, of course, a very positive development there and a negative one as well. Its not a good sign to see Guerrier give up three runs to the meager Royals or worse, to see Gassner, who performed so well last week, leave the game in less then two innings of pitching. However, Torii Hunter's bat has certainly awakened, as he has 6 hits in his last 7 at bats. He is also tearing up the base paths, setting himself up for a 40 or even 50 SB season, along with 30 HRs and 100 RBI. Wouldn't that be something? And, of course, Jacque Jones has been batting over .400 so far, showing the need to prove himself in likely his last year as a Twin.

If we win today, it will be as sloppy as last night's win. Last night, Johan Santana pitched six marvelous innings, striking out ten hitters. He also pitched one ugly inning, giving up four runs including a 3-run homer by Mike Sweeney off a bad slider. Needless to say, Santana isn't quite at the peak he was last year. He has some issues, but he certainly has shown his dominance at times. I say no need to worry; he'll have another amazing year as soon as you write him off.

Of course, the offense finally produced with men on base, as Shannon Stewart drove in the winning run with the bases loaded in the 8th. Otherwise, it was home runs by Joe Mauer and Jacque Jones, along with Hunter's three hits, that had the Twins alive.

Let's hope they get a little more situational hitting against the Royals, likely the worse team in the AL. They have no pitching, so the Twins should not have close games. They should dominate them and have batting practice with their pitchers. Hopefully, that will be the outcome of this game.